Santos Tour Down Under - Race Overview

Although ORICA-GreenEDGE was unable to successfully defend Simon Gerran's overall title, Sport Director Matt Wilson called the opening WorldTour event a success for the Australian outfit. Matt Goss ran second in the Cancer Classic and in Stirling, and Simon Gerrans overcame breathing issues that prevented him from contending for the overall to win in Willunga.

“All in all, it was a successful race. We came with a plan to ride for Simon Gerrans, and we did that 100%. He ran into some problems on stage two that prevented him for contending for the overall, but we still backed him [on stage five] – and it paid off when he took the win. When things went wrong for the overall, we attacked the stages full gas. In cycling, everything doesn’t go smoothly all the time. It’s what you do when it doesn’t go smoothly that really counts. I think the boys showed a lot of character this week.” - Sport Director Matt Wilson